St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-04-01
RUDDHA TRANSCENDENT.
An undressing Lecture by Gen. john
son Upon fsudd hism and a Com
parisOn with Christianity.

Gen. r. w. johnson lectured before
good audience at the Y. NJ. c. A. rooms
last evening on Buddhism. He was fire.
quently humorous and made several inter-
esting comparisons. That the religion of
the Buddhist was spiritless imitation of the
Christian religion, he was convinced. The
story of the birth Of Buddha, and the Cir
cumstances attendant upon his advent and
the incidents of his life were SO like the
narrative of the birth and life of Christ.
that he was constrained to believe that
Buddhism was copied after the Christian re-
ligion. If Buddha did indeed exist 543
years before Christ. and this could be
proved. then he would feel like presuming
that the Christian religion was an imitation,
although great improvement. of Budd-
hism.
The fact of the name of the mothereof
Buddha corresponding to that of Mary. the
virgin mother of Christ, the similarity be-
tween the statements that at the age of IL
years Buddha COMPOUNDED the priests in the
temple, and the words of the evangelist that
ut the same age Christ made the doctors in
the temple marvel greatly, showed Il CORE
spoudence and great similarity between the
two. But as authors had disagreed regard
ing the time of Buddha's existence, there was
good reason for believing that Buddha must
have existed after the gospels had been writ
ten. They have a triune god, the "Buddh" in
heaven, the '.Buddh" incarnate upon earth,
and the spirit Of "Buddh' as the reflection
left upon earth of Buddha, CORE
Iponded .,o to hd the Christian trinity
bears material resemblance to the Christian
religion, it is withC ut the virtue of the gospel
of grace. 1t has no Redeemer. 1t is Il body
without spirit-cold and dead. Every be-
lever must work out his own salvation. 1t
degraded women, for Buddba, himself having
got into trouble with his wife, left her, and
then started a system of nunneries for
wonNAn's benefit, believing that the greatest
AMBITION of woman should be, to be Born
again-to be born of man. The speaker was
of the opinion that the principles Of Budd-
! hisin existed long before Buddha, but he was
Il sort of Martin Luther, and gave il form.
1t was the best of all Asianisms, had much
| in it TO condemn, and much to praise.
Certainly it had done much toward
| civiizlng the very savage nations
| which had been brought under its in
| fuence. There are now about 400 COO cue
| belieyerS, yet in all its history there has
| never been known Buddhist priest to be-
| come an apostate, and the religion had
| spread with enthusiasm and liberation. He
| thought Christians might borrow some of the
| enthusiasm OF the Buddhist. There were two
branches OF Buddhism, Northern and South
| ern Buddhism. the MOngols being under the
1
of India under the latter. They implicitly be-
| iiaye that Buddha went through $50 different
s;ages OF existence before he became man, be-
inning at the very lowest of all creation, and
that at the end of his life he was reclining
under true, meditating upon the seven de-
grees Of heaven, until lost in the
lofty heights of the great beyond,
when he gave up the ghost and
went upward to heaven. Modern astronomy
and geology seems to go back to Buddhism.
The Buddhist believes that this world is made
of the dead worlds and that 1t will be buried
| at some future tme-a theory which both the
modern astronomer and geologist acquiesce
| in, since by the aid of telescope fiery mete-
ors are frequently seen flying through space.
Buddhim is Il system of traditions Of the life
of Buddha, a wonder theory of evolution and
philosophy based upon certain broad aud
grand principles. Gen. Johnson, however
emphatioally believes that Buddha did not
ante-date Christ.
On the evening of April % the Young
Mems Christian association will give gym.
nastic exhibition in Exposition rink. 1t will
be under the direction Of Prof. Weston,
superintendent of the gymnasium.